OVERALL STATISTICS

BIOGRAPHY

Archie Waddell by Alex Service

Archie came to St.Helens as a forward and ‘a mate of Jum Turtill’s’ for the start of the 1910-11 season. According to the St.Helens Newspaper he was originally visiting friends in Scotland, but went to see his good friend in St.Helens and the persuasive eloquence of the famous full-back induced him to change his mind about going back home and he duly became a Saint. The Newspaper gave the following details of the signing on 9th August 1910: “On Saturday last, the Saints made an important capture when they secured the signature of Archie Waddell a New Zealand forward. Waddell is the picture of the ideal scrummager, standing 6ft and turning the scales at 14st 5lbs. He is only 24 years of age. He commenced his football with Hawk’s Bay Province and from there went into the Auckland team, with whom he has played for three years. He was a North Island representative last year and was invited to play with the New Zealand international rugby union side at present in Australia. The North Island and Auckland in particular are very strong in forwards and it has the hallmark of class to be selected for a representative match. Waddell was a club-mate of Charlie Seeling and the Wigan forward says that the new St.Helens forward is one of the best.”

Waddell made his debut for his new club against Oldham in the first match of the 1910-11 season and scored a try in the Saints 16-5 victory, which delighted the Knowsley Road crowd. Although the beating of such traditionally tough opponents proved to be somewhat over-optimistic in terms of the team’s ambitions during the campaign, Waddell was certainly a great signing for the club. Throughout his career he gave terrific value for money and was a popular figure around the town. He averaged over 20 appearances each season and could be relied on to score at least four tries. The best season for Archie and his new team-mates was 1911-12, when the club reached the dizzy heights of 7th in the Northern Union when Archie made 27 appearances scoring 7 tries. Like many of his colleagues Archie must have returned to New Zealand at the outbreak of War and the next we hear of him is an article in the St.Helens Newspaper and Advertiser, Friday 25thFebruary 1916: “Sergeant Archie Waddell of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, who is well-known in St.Helens as a prominent playing member of the St.Helens RFC has ‘come home’ as the Late Rt.Hon.R.J. Seddon, the Premier of New Zealand, observed when he returned to St.Helens. Sergeant Waddell arrived in St.Helens the other day having spent four and a half months in hospital as a result of his experiences with the Colonial Forces at Gallipoli. He looked fairly well, however, but said he was not yet in form to play football, as he is suffering from the effects of concussion caused by the explosion of a high explosive shell, and also from the effects of dysentery. As the Newspaper representatives left, Sergeant Waddell said: “As I said, I don’t think I shall play football again, but I shall go to see the boys on Saturday when they play Barrow.” There are reports of him playing against Australia in 1919, but this is unconfirmed. Although Archie suffered badly from his military service, he survived to tell the tale, unlike his old chum Turtill, who perished on the Western Front. Both Turtill and Waddell organised charity matches in the town as part of the Chief Constable’s Clog and Stocking Fund, which provided children’s clothes for the needy. They certainly had two of these matches and the teams were known as Turtill’s Toddlers and Waddell’s Warriors. The teams themselves consisted of prominent local business men and personalities. Archie played in one, certainly. Archie returned to New Zealand and was working a farm in Patutahi. We do know that he died on 2nd November 1972. In Gisbourne, New Zealand.